A Merging of Sun and Skin Care

By: Sara Mason

One of the challenges in providing SPF is that in order to achieve an effective SPF with high ratings—which will be the trend in the future—a high concentration of inorganic filters is required, resulting in poor product aesthetics, especially whitening on the skin.

“Currently the products in the market do not allow for high SPF with a nice sensorial feel,” says Sandrock-Beunat. “Aesthetics is the biggest challenge and what we are trying to address for the future, especially as SPF ratings expectations increase for maximum protection.” UV boosters would enable formulators to reduce the concentration needed for the same performance and enhance the sensorial properties.

Sandrock-Beunat also notes that it’s critical for the industry to be focused on UV boosters in order to provide protection and sensorial properties effectively in future formulations. Dow is pursuing encapsulation systems that will increase the photostability of inorganic filters for more efficient products. “This will be the game-changer for brand owners, who will be able to differentiate their line,” she says.

Not only is sun care an issue aesthetically, but consumers are concerned about the ingredients in their sunscreens, with a particular focus on the high concentration of chemical filters. With that in mind, La Roche-Posay, which recently received a Corporate Social Responsibility award from the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology for its Save Our Skin initiative, designed the Cell-Ox Shield XL complex. The synergistic combination of filters provides advanced UVA/UVB and antioxidant protection using fewer ingredients while maintaining broad-spectrum protection in a lightweight texture to enhance consumer compliance. La Roche-Posay reformulated the product to include fewer active ingredients by reducing the number of UV filters from previous formulations while the complex of antioxidants remains the same.

The next-generation technology appears in the newly launched Anthelios 60 Ultra Light Sunscreen Fluid for the face and Anthelios 60 Melt-In Sunscreen Milk for the body. Designed with optimal efficacy, safety and consumer compliance in mind, the products in the Anthelios 60 line feature fewer ingredients and are water-resistant for up to 80 minutes—the maximum time recognized by the FDA.

According to Angela Bennett, vice president with La Roche-Posay, this sunscreen uses 21% fewer ingredients while maintaining a broad-spectrum protection with an SPF of 60 in a lightweight, fast-absorbing texture. La Roche-Posay’s goal is for the products to feel luxurious when applied and be non-messy as well—fulfilling the brand’s objective of delivering a sunscreen formula with a great texture to help ensure people will apply and reapply it every two hours, as necessary.

In regions such as Asia-Pacific, which is the world’s fast-growing market overall, opportunities exist in a different way. “While it’s not a culture of going to the beach, the preference for white complexion makes sun protection important in products with whitening actives to protect the skin from getting darker,” says Sandrock-Beunat. For this region—specifically Southeast Asia—it is important to make UV protection resistant to sweat in high humidity for effective protection, she adds.

Sun Care With Skin Benefits

Having an SPF, however, may no longer be enough. Beauty brands have to satisfy as many functions in one product as possible. Nivea, for example, has launched multifunction sun care products successfully while continuing to reinvent itself, consolidating its position as a leading sun care brand and enjoying high levels of consumer trust.

As skin care brands offer more multifunctional sun protection/skin products, the blurring of the boundaries may also benefit sun care as they offer more skin care benefits and a more pleasing sensorial experience.

In a study conducted by Steven Q. Wang of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center’s Dermatology Division, 86% of surveyed participants knew sunscreen helps prevent skin cancer when used with other protection measures. Yet, despite this knowledge, the majority do not use sunscreen on a regular basis. In fact, 51% of consumers do not apply sunscreen because they consider the texture too messy, sticky or greasy, according to a La Roche-Posay study.

To meet the market demand for water-resistant products with good skin feel, Dow Personal introduced its Epitex 66 Polymer. The emulsion was designed to address low tack to improve the feel on skin when the product is applied. It combines water-resistance with more pleasing skin aesthetics, as compared to conventional water-resistance technologies. “[The] Epitex 66 Polymer can address a fundamental issue—how their products feel when applied,” says Sandrock-Beunat. “Consumers want performance in a product that is easy to use and has a nice after feel.” Improved technology and innovative ingredients provide consumers with the sensorial properties they expect from a quality product.

Consumers also can apply sunscreen onto skin that is wet, without the unsightly whitening effects typically formed by standard water-resistant sunscreen formulas. Ashland’s HydroSheer water-resistant sun care formulations apply transparently on skin, even in the presence of water. Ashland developed the formulation after it discovered that hydrophobic film, under special formulating conditions, was miscible in water. The patent-pending continuous spray formulations contain Ashland’s Advantage Plus polymer and select Ceraphyl esters to provide clear films and bring an added level of convenience to consumers. Ashland’s Advantage Plus polymer reorients itself when interfaced with water, resulting in a more hydrophobic barrier. “The polymer self-adapts, moving above the active ingredient to prevent sunscreen from being removed,” explains Anna Gripp, global marketing leader for skin and sun care, Ashland Specialty Ingredients. “Consumers may now apply or re-apply water-resistant sunscreen at any time as there is no longer any need to dry off.”